South Carolina Tops AP Preseason Women's Basketball Poll

South Carolina will begin the 2026-27 women's college basketball season at No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25, giving head coach Dawn Staley's program the top position for the fifth time in seven years. The AP released its rankings Tuesday, October 20, 2026, with UConn second and USC third as the leading contenders for the national championship.

The Gamecocks collected 23 of 31 first-place votes, while UConn received six and USC earned two. South Carolina enters the season after reaching the NCAA championship game in each of the previous two seasons, including a loss to UCLA in the 2025-26 final, according to the AP report.

The rankings place Duke fourth and Michigan fifth, followed by Texas, Louisville, Vanderbilt, LSU and Iowa. UCLA, last season's championship opponent, occupies No. 11, while North Carolina and Notre Dame complete the next two positions.

South Carolina's position at the top also reflects a sustained run of success. According to USA TODAY Sports, the Gamecocks finished 2025-26 with a 36-4 record and reached six consecutive Final Fours. The team returns All-American Joyce Edwards and retains frontcourt options Chloe Kitts, Ashlyn Watkins, Oliviyah Edwards and Alicia Tournebize.

Staley acknowledged that the top ranking brings both recognition and expectations, particularly with a challenging nonconference schedule ahead.

"It's a gift and curse," Staley said. "I tend to not look at the number, but our players do. They look at it and feel like there's a sense of respect to being No. 1.

They also know that it's pressure packed with the type of non-conference schedule we have, we're going to be challenged. If we stand there at No. 1 at the end of our non-conference season that's something to be truly to be proud of."

According to the AP report, South Carolina will face No. 20 Maryland on November 2 and No. 12 North Carolina on November 8 before meeting No. 3 USC a week later. The Gamecocks are also scheduled to play No. 2 UConn on November 24, renewing a matchup between two leading national contenders.

The previous meeting between South Carolina and UConn came during the 2025 NCAA tournament. South Carolina won that contest, which was followed by a public disagreement involving Staley and UConn coach Geno Auriemma. Auriemma later apologized, and Staley said the coaches had spoken and encouraged fans to move past the incident, according to the AP report.

UConn finished the 2025-26 season with a 38-1 record, according to USA TODAY Sports, and returns reigning consensus national player of the year Sarah Strong. Head coach Geno Auriemma enters his 42nd season, with KK Arnold, Blanca Quiñonez and Olivia Vukosa also expected to play important roles.

USC's third-place ranking reflects the return of star guard JuJu Watkins, who missed the entire 2025-26 season while recovering from a torn ACL. USA TODAY Sports reported that USC finished last season 18-14. Watkins will join National Freshman of the Year Jazzy Davidson and top recruit Saniyah Hall as the Trojans pursue a stronger campaign.

The AP preseason rankings differ slightly from the coaches poll published by USA TODAY Sports on October 20. In that poll, South Carolina received 26 first-place votes and 792 points, while UConn earned six first-place votes and 772 points. The coaches poll also ranked Michigan fifth, Texas sixth and Louisville seventh, but placed LSU eighth and Vanderbilt ninth, reversing the order of those two teams in the AP rankings.

USA TODAY Sports also highlighted Duke's consecutive Elite Eight appearances and Michigan's 2025-26 Elite Eight run. Texas, which finished 35-4 last season, returns three-time All-American Madison Booker after reaching the Final Four for a second consecutive year.

The complete AP preseason Top 25 is South Carolina, UConn, USC, Duke, Michigan, Texas, Louisville, Vanderbilt, LSU, Iowa, UCLA, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Kentucky, TCU, Washington, Minnesota, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Maryland, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Illinois, West Virginia and NC State.

Other teams receiving AP votes were Nebraska, Arizona State, Baylor, Virginia, Michigan State, Kansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Syracuse, Villanova, Fairfield, Oregon, Rice, Georgia, Colorado, Virginia Tech and Clemson.